21 August 2006

National Day Rally Speech

I didn't watch the PM's rally speech on TV last night. I always like good news. But the elections had just ended recently, and I figured that the PAP wouldn't be announcing any new benefits for the people (not for another four or five years anyway). Poked around the ST this morning, and true enough, these were the first four paragraphs I saw:

A GLOBAL city with citizens firmly anchored to the country and welcoming of new immigrants to add to its vitality.

That was the Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong envisioned last night that would do best in a rapidly changing world.

Even as he sketched this vision, Mr Lee acknowledged that it would require both individuals and the nation to adapt to secure such a future.

Giving his third National Day Rally speech, he confessed at the outset that he had no 'goodies' to announce this year.

Heheh. I swear I'm psychic sometimes. But you skeptics will merely say, "Ahhhh, Mr Wang, you're not psychic, you just understand the PAP too well."

I've been perusing the many ST articles today on PM Lee's speech, trying to see what's new and significant. Not much, really. Plenty of old messages being reiterated - foreign talent good; Mr Brown bad; more babies needed; then there's a new, misconceived but somewhat unsurprising plan for the government to use "podcasts, vodcasts, humour and wit" to reach out Singaporeans (oooh, so hip and happening, this is funny, I'm laughing already).

We get a couple of points framed in a happy, positive manner - the ST reports that PM Lee notes a rise in the employment rate for older workers, especially for men aged 55 to 64. But there is a curious silence about how big or small the rise was; how many retrenched, older Singaporeans have now found jobs etc.

And a couple of self-congratulatory, simplistic statements like this: "Las Vegas Sands is pouring more than $5 billion into its Marina Bay integrated resort, a major commitment that is a vote of confidence in Singapore". Heheh, Las Vegas Sands already has multiple casino resorts in Macau (like this one). So they must be VERY confident about the Chinese Special Administrative Region of Macau too, despite the triads, the prostitutes and the drugs there.

As for this:

The manufacturing sector is also attracting investments. Oil giant Shell plans to build a new multibillion-dollar petrochemical complex occupying Bukom and Jurong Islands, and two major investments in water fabrication have been secured.

These companies invest here not because Singapore has the lowest wages but because it is the 'best place for high-quality investments', Mr Lee said.

Well, well. Nigeria must also be one of the best places for high-quality investments, because Shell has had PLENTY of investments there for decades (and still does). Yet Nigeria is a hotspot for guerilla activity, civil war and political upheaval. Maybe Shell's choice of investment location doesn't have that much to do with the strength or quality of political leadership in the country? In the Singapore context, educate yourself. Go on, click here.

Pm lee knows less people is going to vote for PAP , so he start to bring more new voters or immigrates to add to his future vote... i worried about more crowded mrt trains and SBS buses with so many new people or so called " talent"... our citizenship is not for sale or lay long(great singapore sale), understand MR PM .his new immigration policy will only result in more social problems and social friction among the races... what about social impact on our community?what is the difference beteween singapore chinese and chinese chinese? is ba ba a singapore chinese? why put more label on singaporeans and trying to divide us .... he is going worst and crazy ... trying all sick ways to stay in power...

Well, at least the government has now dropped the pretence of our foreign talent policy.

Call a spade a spade. The government is looking for immigrants to augment our aging population. It's numbers they're looking for and quantity is more critical than the quality.

In fact, I suspect our political leaders aren't even really that concerned about whether our foreign workers make Singapore their home or not, in spite of words to the contrary.

So long there's a constant churning of foreign labour in Singapore, our economy will keep humming, domestic demand will be sustained and more taxes collected for government coffers. Plus labour will be kept relatively cheap for MNCs because there is an almost inexhaustible supply of cheap white collar labour from countries like China and India.

But what does this mean for Singapore as a nation, a country? We are becoming just a hotel, a transit point. I think the government is using countries like Luxembourg and Monaco as models, where the foreign worker population is much greater than the local population. But in these countries, there's a clear line of demarcation between foreigners and locals and it's clear the locals are higher up on the economic and social pecking order.

Minilee's speech gave me the same sick feeling in a stomuch, just as the judiciary's actions in the recent dismissal of the Chee's appeal against the summary judgement did. Somehow or rather the courts in India, Indonesia and even LaLaLand have more promise of justice. First World...hehehe as Mr Wang would say.

The more well-off aren't going to have too many kids since they'd rather invest their time and money on their own pursuits.

The poor and less-educated would like a few more kids to look after them when they're old, but given rising costs and job insecurity, I don't think they can afford to. And even if they do, as some of my more well-off friends cynically put it, they're only creating a burden for themselves and the country; one went as far as joke that the poor and "hopeless" should be castrated for their own good.

Maybe LHL thinks the solution lies in immigrants, but that'll only made Singaporeans feel even less secure and appreciated in their own country.

And with many of these foreigners here seemingly only for the money (I know a lot of these), Singapore might end up with too few immigrants--and too many disenfranchised locals.

What then? ;)

PS: With regards to a comment earlier about Zidane, a lot of "immigrants" in the French national team are from what used to be French colonies. :)

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